Scoring poorly in school? Blame your genes!

Initially, a team of researchers has identified 74 areas of the human genome associated with the level of instruction. It is well known that social and other environmental factors influence education. These findings suggest that genetic large analysis may be able to help uncover the biological pathways also. The study, conducted by the Association of Genetics Consortium of Social Sciences, the genetic information of 300,000 people, mainly of European origin, who had participated in previous studies in which their education had been recorded was analyzed. Previous research has shown that genetic factors account for about 20 percent of the variation in the level of education.

The newly identified genetic factors represent a very small fraction of this variation, the researchers said. The size of the study, published in the journal Nature, has allowed to answer questions that can not be treated earlier. For example, researchers were able to identify many more genetic factors that appear to contribute to cognitive ability than previously known. The study has implications for future research, where these links can be explored further.

“These study results allow us to make more refined questions about the genetic and environmental bases of educational attainment and their health consequences,” said Jonathan King, program director in the National Institute on Aging of the United States. “for example, we know each other for quite some time that education seems to be a protective factor against Alzheimer ago,” King said. “Perhaps, ultimately, we will be able to learn by what and how the educational level seems to have a protective effect on cognition in later life, “King said

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